- 23
Michael Gross
Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- Michael Gross
- Shlomit in Blue
- signed Michael Gross and again in Hebrew, titled in Hebrew and dated 1987-8 (on the reverse)
- oil and pencil on canvas
- 76 3/4 by 51 in.
- 195 by 129.5 cm
- Painted in 1987-88.
Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner, 1993
Exhibited
Tel Aviv, Dvir Intrator Gallery, Michael Gross, Works 1987-88, 1988, no. 7, illustrated in color in the exhibition catalogue
Literature
Mordechai Omer, Michael Gross, Tel Aviv, 1993, p. 46, no. 61, illustrated in color
Condition
The work is in overall good condition with surface dirt on the white areas on the bottom and right edges of the canvas.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
Gross painted his only sister, Shlomit, repeatedly throughout her lifetime. Typical of Gross’s style, the portrait is abstracted to a minimal representation of his sister. Her body is simplified to a vertical totem in blue, her face and hair represented by a few minimal strokes. The fabric of her dress is echoed in a vertical swath of blue painted along the left edge of the canvas. By comparison to other portraits of Shlomit - there are multiple vertical portraits of the sitter dressed in blue from the era - this more detailed work does give the viewer a hint at her features and expression. Three years his senior, Shlomit was admired by her brother, who began painting her when he returned to Israel from his studies in Paris. Gross, a celebrated sculptor as well as painter, has depicted Shlomit in a cylindrical dress, standing tall in a void of white canvas – a monument to his ailing sister in her last years of life. “The existential struggle between the figure and the space arouses in the viewer the human pain that Gross embedded in these canvases.” (Mordechai Omer, Michael Gross, 1993, p. 28)